Advocates are pressing Connecticut lawmakers to lower the state's legal blood alcohol concentration from 0.08 to 0.05.

The effort, spotlighted Wednesday at the Capitol, aims to curb a rising tide of alcohol-related deaths.

Tom Chapman of the National Transportation Safety Board highlighted a grim statistic: "Alcohol-impaired fatalities in Connecticut are up 30% since 2019—from 98 in 2019 to 127 fatalities in 2022."

If passed, Connecticut would join Utah as the only states with a 0.05 BAC limit.